The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-09
DON'T Neglect the Food Crops.

1t matters not how promising the cot
ton crop may appear the planters
should not be betrayed by these promis-
ing appearances into neglecting their
food crops.
To begin with, it is not the most prom"
ising cotton crop that makes the largest
yield in the end; in the next place it is
by no means the largest crop of cotton
that sells for the most money, or that
leaves the largest margin or profit for the
planter. 1t is only the margin that
is left after expenses are met which pays
the planter. A big crop may put more
money in the market and do the general
trade more good whilst it leaves the
farmer little or no profit after all. But
it is also true that a big crop may abso.
lutely bring less money.
The value Of the cotton crop for six-
teen years, that is from '70-71 to 1856,
is given by the Cotton Movement, page
&C.. We find that the most valuable crop
of the period was that of '75-76, which is
stated at 1899 AS, 1853; or stated in gold
about s330,00O00O. Expressed :in 400
pound bales, this crop. was 5,141 ,S92.43
bales.
The largest crop of the period was that
of 1898, amounting to 8,155, ,963.3 400
pound bales, the value of which is stated
at 1927 ,938.137 in gold. We thus see a
crop of three million more bales, bring.
ing absolutely two million less dollars,
besides the greater cost of producing and
marketing the three million extra bales,
which possibly amounted to not less than
seventy million dollars.
Taking the three smallest crops of the
period, viz, those of '71-72, '72-79 and
'74-75, we find that they amounted for
the three years to 11,S43, ,345.21 400
pound bales, and sold for S787 ,084, ,234
in gold; whilst the three largest crops
of the period, viz, of 1898, '80-S1 and
$3.50, amounted to 23,413,94O.63, and
sold for S99S, 1856, 1913 in gold.
This would seem to have been S2l1,-
101 1902 more made in the three big crop
years than in the three small ones. Let
us see how the planters Jared after all.
Putting the cost of producing the cotton
for the first three years at cents per
pound, and for the latter three, at 6
cents, and the average cost of transport
ing the crop to market at So per bale for
both periods, we find, after deducting
the cost of production and that of trans
portation, that the planters had a margin
left on the eleven million eight hundred
thousand bales of the three small crop
years, amounting to S372,567, 1853, and on
the three big crop years of twenty three
million bales, but 366,010,733, or with
about double the quantity of cotton
produced, the planters got actually six
million less money. We sometimes are
inclined to think that all the expensive
fertilizers and socalled improved
methods are little better than premium
for making cotton for less than it will
fetch on the markets. Now if this
expense and labor were bestowed on the
food crops with more moderate cotton
crops as the result, ii cannot be doubted
but that the reduced cotton crop would
bring,fully as much money, if not more,
on the markets than the greatly enhanced
crops bring, whilst the enhanced food
crops being used at home would be that
much solid gain.
So we leave off as we began. 1t mat
ters not how bright the cotton crop may
look, don't neglect the food crops for it.
-CbZumbiG Re0ister.